Pedal to the Point Recap...2009 Team Fagowees!
Team Fagowees does it again! and this time, in a really HOT and sweatie sorta way....
dudes...it was like...100 degrees with the heat index all weekend. no joke! but hey! i signed up to pedal (180 miles!), and pedal i did!
this years event started at the polaris learning center...different from the last few years i have been in it, where it started at the fairgrounds.
out of the 13 of us on our team (tho, more fagowees were riding with their company teams), there were 6 or 7s that opted for the century loop. that means, you add on 25 extra miles to day one, making your total 175 miles over the weekend. (yes, it was really 180! lol)
three of us gals were on the loop...redNay, tygerdsebat and myself. welp...at the turnoff point, lisa was with us and she was like WHAT THE HEY! IM GOING FOR IT!!
yah. her first century ride was SUPPOSED to be the HHH. welp. not anymore! lol
the ride is pretty flat for day one. UNLESS you opt for the loop. OMG. WTF? (bbq? ha) who picked up the sweet corn challenge and stuck it in lorain county????
and WHO put a hilly, curvie gravel road in the middle of it? NICE. um. yah. took that turn (or 2) a bit slow, lemme tell ya.
love centuries...and bummed in not doin HHH (but i am doin fall and leaf yo!), but next year? p2p will NOT include the century loop for me. ha.
lets just say that i normally dont like stopping at all of the rest stops. more like, every other one...and lunch.
but. we hit. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE.
and then some.
OH MY!!!!!
But. WE MADE IT. the 4 century chics rocked it yo!
along the way...i was treated to a surprise in fact!
after i left the second to last rest stop...i was pedaling away down a hill...and i look to t he side of the road.
i notice this bald dude, standing in a field. i took a double take. and a triple. thinking...damn. that looks like mike! (fagowees reference: NewMike).
then i continue on down the hill and i notice two blond women...
and a jeep.
lakeshel , her mom and NewMike came to watch me! HOW FREAKIN COOL WAS THAT? her mom lives like...well. right on the route! hehe!
i had to stop...exchange hugs...and pedal on!
sandusky was that much closer now that we were outta milan...
time to bring day ones ride to a close!
89 degrees. 65% humidity. 100 miles.
can we say that the BEER WAS WELL DESERVED AT THE END OF DAY ONE????
i got to the finish line, and KBI, the team the ron., patti and TommyBoyK rode for was there waiting. WITH COLD BEERS! oh how i love thee KBI!
tents were set up.
dinner was had....then off to SOAK CITY for the hot tub and pool bar. NICE.
after soakage and return, it was time to grab another snack (gag. wendys) and have a glass of vino with some cheese, then SLEEP THE NIGHT AWAY! and sleep...WE DID.
day 2?
hotter than day one! in the 90s. high humidity. OOOOOOO YAH.
breakfast. bikes. and off we go!
hot.
hot.
more hot.
but pedal we did.
to the tune of another 80 miles...a few little incidents along the way.
out of our team, there were 5 of us "in front"...and all of a sudden, captain Joe broke a spoke about 15 miles FROM the end (ugh!) so he was sagged back. we were bummed...as was joe! but it was ok...he was in good spirits when we met up at the end!
dana had a slow start in the morning, but found the best experience waiting for her by bringing up the tail end of the ride with the Road Rats team! an AWESOME inspiration! one of their members, craig, was diagnosed with MS a few years ago...the disease has taken the use of his legs.
this AMAZING man did the entire ride with a HAND POWERED bike! and his team (and dana!) was by his side when they crossed the finish line! (photo to right from National MS Society Buckeye Chapter Flickr page). in fact, if you see dana, ask her to tell you about it all. it is truly a BEAUTIFUL and inspiring story!
in fact, the entire ride is an inspiration...and that REALLY hit home for me when i crossed the finish line.
i ride because of my uncle mike. i ride for everyone who lives with MS. i ride to raise awareness. i ride because i love my bike. i ride because i DIG THE CHALLENGE. i ride because i love the endurance. i ride because it helps raise funds for research. i ride because donations help those with MS. i ride because of so many reasons...
but crossing that line this year. i realized something.
i crossed with bruce, theresa and chip.
we crossed together.
and as we crossed that line, i saw so many people cheering us on. but what got me...were the people in wheelchairs. the people sitting on the lawn with signs. the people LIVING WITH MS...THANKING US! the absolute joy in their faces. the excitement. the gratitude. the appreciation.
THE HOPE.
i started to cry.
all i did was ride my bike.
if all it takes to help make their lives BETTER, is for me to ride my bike...that is something i would do every. single. DAY.
something so simple. helping something so complex.
it's an awesome thing.
and it's the right thing!
Join the Movement!